Portrait  of  Judge  Humphrey 


LIBRARY  OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 

AT  URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 


Gift 

of 
Harry 
Pratt 


"^ 


^ 


Reproduction   of   portrait   presented: 


PROCEEDINGS 

Upon  the  Occasion 

of  the  Presentation 

of  a 

PORTRAIT 

of  the  late 
Honorable  J  Otis  Humphrey 

to  the 
United  States  District  Court 
for  the  Southern  District  of  Illinois,  at 
Springfield,  on  February  Twelfth,  Nine- 
teen Hundred  and  Twenty-three 


committee  on  presentation 

Walter  McC.  Allen     Arthur.  M.  Fitzgerald 
Robert  C.  Brown  Logan  Hay 

Vincent  Y.  Dallman     William  L.  Patton 
Philip  Barton  Warren 


UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 
SOUTHERN  DISTRICT  OF  ILLINOIS 


IN  THE  DISTRICT  COURT 


January  Term,  A.  D.  1923 

In  the  matter  of  the  Presentation  of 
a  Portrait  of  the  late  Honorable 
J  Otis  Humphrey. 

Before  Page,  Circuit  Judge 

AND 

FitzHenry,  English  and  Wilkerson 
District  Judges, 


Motion 

By 
Walter  McC.  Allen. 

May  it  please  the  Court: 

On  behalf  of  more  than  one  hundred  and 
fifty  members  of  the  Bar,  and  of  a  number  of 
citizens  of  Springfield  whose  names  appear 
in  the  written  motion,  I  move  this  Honorable 
Court  that  it  accept  and  take  into  its  custody, 
to  be  hung  upon  the  walls  of  this  Court  Room, 
a  Portrait  of  the  late  Honorable  J  Otis 
Humphrey,  Judge  of  this  Court  from  1901  to 
1918.  The  portrait  is  by  Mr.  Henry  Salem 
Hubbell  and  will  now  be  unveiled. 

Mr.  Bruce  A.  Campbell  of  the  East  St.  Louis 
Bar  will  address  the  Court  in  support  of  the 
motion. 


Address 

By 
Bruce  A.  Campbell. 

May  it  please  the  Court  : 

On  the  14th  day  of  June,  IQ18,  a  great  Judge 
and  a  great  man  passed  away. 

ALTHOUGH  we  who  knew 
him  and  who  marvelled  at  his 
forcefulness  and  strength  did 
not  think  of  him  as  old,  yet, 
at  the  time  of  his  death  he  had 
almost  reached  the  allotted 
age  of  three  score  years  and  ten. 

In  the  month  which  he  loved,  because  with 
7 


8  Presentation  of  Portrait 

the  freshness  and  life  of  its  vegetation  and  the 
brightness  of  its  verdure,  it  represented  to  him 
the  living  evidence  of  a  growth  directed  by 
Nature's  God,  he  ceased  his  labors  and  went 
away. 

In  this  City  which  he  loved  because  it  repre- 
sented what  was  near  and  dear  to  him  in  this 
life,  the  place  of  his  struggles  and  successes, 
the  place  of  home  and  family  and  friends,  the 
place  where  lived  and  now  is  buried  the  im- 
mortal Lincoln,  whom  he  loved  and  revered 
above  all  men  —  in  this  City,  J  Otis  Humphrey 
solved  the  great  mystery  of  the  ages  and  en- 
tered the  mysterious  realm  of  death  to  rest  and 
sleep  and  w^ait  until  he  sees  the  glory  of  the 
rising  sun  on  the  resurrection  morn. 

I  do  not  purpose  to  detail  the  episodes  of  his 
busy  life.  In  funeral  oration,  in  the  public 
press  and  in  memorials  spread  upon  the  rec- 
ords of  this  Court,  appear  not  only  the  mile- 


Presentation  of  Portrait  9 

stones  of  his  career,  but  also  words  of  appre- 
ciation by  those  who  knew  him  better  than  I 
and  who  were  far  more  fit  and  capable  to  tell 
the  stor}^  of  what  he  was  and  what  he  did. 

It  is  not  the  date  of  birth,  the  names  of 
parents,  the  details  of  education  or  the  offices, 
other  than  Judge  of  this  Court,  which  he  held, 
with  which  we  are  now  concerned. 

How  the  man  and  the  Judge  were  made  is 
not  now  so  important  as  what  the  resultant  man 
and  Judge  was  and  did,  which  causes  us,  nearly 
five  years  after  his  death,  to  pause  in  our  affairs 
and  gather  here  to  pay  tribute  of  our  respect 
to  his  memory,  to  laud  his  accomplishments 
and  record  our  appreciation  of  his  character 
and  deeds. 

My  acquaintance  with  Judge  Humphrey 
began  in  1905  when  I  met  him  in  my  home  city, 
where  he  was  presiding  at  a  term  of  this  Court 
then  being  held  there.    Later  in  the  same  year 


10  Presentation  of  Portrait 

our  county  was  detached  from  this  District  and 
became  a  part  of  the  newly  created  Eastern 
District  of  Illinois.  From  then  until  a  few 
years  ago,  I  saw  him  only  a  few  times,  either 
upon  infrequent  appearances  here  in  this 
Court  or  when  I  met  him  occasionally  in  social 
intercourse.  During  the  interim  between  the 
death  of  Judge  Wright  and  the  appointment  of 
Judge  English  as  Judge  in  our  Federal  Court, 
for  more  than  a  year,  he  held  court  in  our  Dis- 
trict and  I  became  better  acquainted  with  him. 
I  learned  to  know  him  better  and  with  that 
knowledge  there  came  to  me  as  to  all  who  came 
into  contact  with  him,  a  respect  for  his  charac- 
ter and  ability  and  an  appreciation  of  the  great 
qualities  of  heart  and  mind  which  made  him 
the  great  man  and  Judge  that  he  really  was. 

Even  with  that  acquaintance,  I  feel  ill  pre- 
pared to  express  adequately  what  you  who 
knew  him  so  much  better,  could  better  do. 


Presentation  of  Portrait  1 1 

On  June  2nd,  1903,  the  Bar  of  this  District 
presented  to  this  Court  the  portraits  which  now 
hang  upon  these  wells  —  John  Marshall,  Wal- 
ter Q.  Gresham,  David  Davis,  Samuel  H. 
Treat,  Thomas  Drummond,  William  J.  Allen, 
John  McLean,  Nathaniel  Pope  and  John  M. 
Harlan.    What  a  galaxy  of  names ! 

All  but  one  of  them  had  presided  in  this 
Court;  four  of  them  had  served  as  members  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  land. 

Addresses  were  made  upon  that  occasion  by 
Mr.  Philip  B.  Warren,  Senator  Charles  W. 
Fairbanks  of  Indiana,  Judge  C.  C.  Kohlsaat, 
Judge  Lawrence  Weldon,  Judge  James  A. 
Creighton,  Hon.  John  N.  Jewett,  Judge  J.  C. 
Allen,  Mr.  Logan  Hay,  General  Alfred  Oren- 
dorff  and  Senator  Shelby  M.  Cullom.  Judge 
Humphrey  accepted  these  portraits  upon  be- 
half of  the  Court.  With  brevity  that  told  the 
story,  with  that  condensation  of  language  and 


12  Presentation  of  Portrait 

clearness  of  expression  that  was  always  his,  he 

responded  to  the  speeches  of  presentation  and 

among  other  things  said : 

**Gentlemen,  you  have  my  personal 
thanks  for  these  portraits.  To  the  Court 
they  will  be  a  constant  source  of  sympathy 
and  strength;  to  counsel,  an  inspiration 
encouraging  the  best  that  is  in  him  to 
ripen  into  the  best  he  can  do;  the  jurors, 
witnesses  and  aiiditors,  a  remainder  of  the 
noble  record  already  made  and  a  pledge 
that  the  future  shall  be  alike  secure.  To 
all  these  portraits  will  stand  for  absolute 
impartiality,  fearless  independence,  unfal- 
tering justice  and  untarnished  honor. 
They  will  be  received  into  the  custody  of 
the  Court  and  have  a  permanent  place  on 
the  walls  of  the  Court  Room." 

Today,  twenty  years  later,  we  bring  his  por- 
trait and  add  it  to  those  which  he  then  accepted. 
May  we  not  say  that  thereby  the  light  of  these 
walls  is  not  dimmed  but  that  another  glorious 
star  will  soon  be  added  and  that  the  inspiration 


Presentation  of  Portrait  13 

of  these  walls  is  not  diminished  by  the  addition 
we  make  here  today. 

When  Judge  Humphrey  spoke  the  words 
above  quoted  he  had  served  a  little  more  than 
two  years  as  Judge  of  this  Court.  When  he 
died  he  had  served  here  seventeen  years. 

As  I  view  it,  that  declaration  of  his  was  but 
the  voicing  of  his  ideals  as  to  what  a  Judge 
should  be  and  his  declaration  that  he  purposed 
to  be  just  that  kind  of  a  Judge.  ^'Absolute 
impartiality,  fearless  independence,  unfalter- 
ing justice  and  untarnished  honor''  —  what  a 
creed  for  any  Judge!  What  an  ideal  for  any 
man  called  upon  to  preside  as  arbiter  between 
his  fellow  men  and  between  the  nation  and  its 
citizens. 

Chief  Justice  Marshall  in  the  Virginia  Con- 
stitutional Convention  of  1829-1830,  when, 
although  nearly  seventy-five  years  of  age  and 
after  nearly  thirty  years'  service  as  the  head  of 


14  Presentation  of  Portrait 

the  greatest  and  most  unique  court  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  world,  reluctantly  responded  to  the 
call  of  the  people  to  further  public  service,  and 
in  discussing  in  that  connection  the  duites  of 
a  Judge  said: 

*'He  has  to  pass  between  the  Govern- 
ment and  the  man  whom  the  Government 
is  prosecuting;  between  the  most  power- 
ful individual  in  the  community  and  the 
poorest  and  most  unpopular.  It  is  of  the 
last  importance  that,  in  the  exercise  of 
these  duties,  he  should  observe  the  utmost 
fairness.  Need  I  press  the  necessity  of 
this?  Does  not  every  man  feel  that  his 
own  personal  security  and  the  security  of 
his  property  depends  upon  that  fairness? 
The  Judicial  Department  comes  home  in 
its  effects  to  every  man's  fireside ;  it  passes 
on  his  property  and  his  reputation,  his  life, 
his  all.  *  *  *  J  j^^yg  always  thought, 
from  my  earliest  youth  until  now,  that  the 
greatest  scourge  an  angry  Heaven  ever 
inflicted  upon  an  ungrateful  and  sinning 


Presentation  of  Portrait  15 

people  was  an  ignorant,  a  corrupt  and  a 
dependent  judiciary." 

How  well  Judge  Humphrey  lived  up  to 
these  ideals  and  how  well  he  measured  up  to 
the  standards  of  Marshall  and  of  himself  is  now 
a  matter  of  history.  The  record  is  written  and 
the  book  is  closed. 

He  was  absolutely  impartial.  In  his  Court 
he  knew  no  friends  and  he  knew  no  foes.  To 
him  the  rich  and  the  poor,  the  popular  and  the 
unpopular,  the  great  and  the  small,  could  come 
with  assurances  that  each  would  get  his  due. 
Every  mxan  could  be  assured  of  a  square  deal 
and  none  could  complain  of  unfairness  or  bad 
treatment. 

He  not  only  was  absolutely  impartial,  but 
he  believed  in  unfaltering  justice.  While  he 
w^anted  no  guilty  man  to  escape,  he  wanted  no 
innocent  man  to  be  found  guilty.  To  him  laws 
were  meant  for  enforcement  and  he  believed 


l6  Presentation  of  Portrait 

that  only  by  enforcement  against  the  guilty 
could  the  dignity  and  majesty  of  the  law  be 
maintained.  Like  Samuel  Johnson,  he  believed 
that  "the  law  is  the  last  result  of  human  wisdom 
acting  upon  human  experience  for  the  benefit 
of  the  public/*  Judge  Humphrey's  justice  was 
like  that  of  Aristotle,  'That  virtue  of  the  soul 
which  is  distributive  according  to  desert." 

But  all  this  does  not  mean  that  he  was  not 
and  could  not  be  merciful.  To  him  justice  was 
to  do  what  was  just,  and  what  w^as  just  was  to 
him  what  was  best  not  only  for  the  individual 
but  for  the  Government  and  for  society,  and 
the  principles  of  the  law  and  of  the  Constitu- 
tion were  never  with  him  subordinated  to  a 
maudlin  mercy,  which  is  only  another  name  for 
sentiment. 

He  possessed  fearless  independence  and  un- 
tarnished honor.  I  knew  of  no  Judge  w^ho 
possessed  these  traits  to  a  greater  degree.    It 


Presentation  of  Portrait  17 

was  not  an  independence  that  was  the  product 
of  stubbornness  but  rather  the  independence 
that  comes  from  honesty  and  from  a  knowledge 
of  the  integrity  of  one's  intentions.  It  was  an 
honor  that  came  from  a  pure  mind  and  a  great 
soul.  If  he  thought  he  was  right  no  power 
could  move  him  to  take  another  position.  In 
the  now  famous  cases  of  the  Packers,  not  even 
the  ire  or  criticism  of  the  man  who  was  then 
President  could  cause  him  to  waver  or  to 
swerve.  He  thought  he  was  right.  He  thought 
he  was  correctly  interpreting  and  upholding 
the  law  of  the  land  and  that  was  the  end  of  it. 
With  his  views  of  the  law  and  justice  of  the 
matter,  he  w^ould  have  been  a  coward  and  a 
poltroon,  as  he  viewed  it,  unworthy  of  the  high 
position  which  he  held,  if  he  had  done  other- 
wise than  he  did  do.  He  could  not  tolerate 
trickery  or  chicanery.  His  life  was  an  open 
book.    He  was  fair  and  he  wanted  others  to  be 


l8  Presentation  of  Portrait 

likewise.  He  was  the  soul  of  honor,  both  as  a 
Judge  and  as  a  man,  and  to  him  I  think  it  was 
the  greatest  virtue  of  them  all. 

He  reverenced  the  Constitution  and  the 
laws.  I  think  we  may  well  compare  him  with 
John  Marshall  in  this  respect.  He  believed  in 
property  and  property  rights  and  in  a  sound 
Government  that  would  protect  that  property. 
To  him  protection  of  life  and  liberty  and  prop- 
erty was  no  wild  vagary  of  the  law  but  it  repre- 
sented real  fundamental  principles  of  Govern- 
ment. He  wanted  a  Government  that  would 
protect  mankind  in  these  inalienable  rights  and 
he  had  no  patience  with  any  political  theory 
which  threatened  to  invade  these  guaranteed 
rights  of  American  citizenship. 

So  as  a  Judge  we  have  weighed  him  upon  his 
own  scales  and  we  have  not  found  him 
wanting. 


Presentation  of  Portrait  19 

Independent  without  being  stubborn. 

Fearless  without  being  fool  hardy. 

Courteous  without  being  fawning. 

Honest  without  being  vain. 

Just  without  being  unmerciful. 

Honorable  without  being  prudish. 

Impartial  without  being  technical. 

Learned  without  being  pedantic,  and 

Merciful  without  being  sentimental  or 
foolish. 

He  stands  forth  as  a  great  and  satisfactory 
Judge  who  will  long  be  remembered  by  all  of 
us  who  had  the  good  fortune  to  know  him. 

About  a  year  ago  I  went  to  one  of  our  great 
cities  to  attend  the  funeral  of  a  dear  and  inti- 
mate friend  who  had  been  Mayor  of  that  City 
and  who,  on  account  of  ill  health,  had  just  re- 
tired from  that  office.  One  of  the  great  daily 
papers  of  that  City  and  of  an  opposite  political 
faith  from  my  friend  editorially  spoke  of  him 
thus: 


20  Presentation  of  Portrait 

''A  good  man,  an  honest  man,  a  cour- 
ageous man,  a  game  fighter  and  a  gentle- 
man, a  conscientious  worker  who  gave 
life  itself  to  his  task,  a  partisan  with  in- 
dependent spirit,  one  who  dared  to  stand 
for  what  he  believed  was  right,  despite  the 
fact  that  men  might  differ  w^ith  him  and 
public  sentiment  might  hold  that  he  was 
wrong.    'Here  was  a  man.' '' 

In  preparing  what  I  am  saying  today 
those  w^ords  came  back  to  me  and  I  quote  them 
here  today  as  applying  as  well  to  Judge 
Humphrey  as  to  him  for  whom  they  were  ex- 
pressly written.  And  what  more  could  be  said 
of  any  man?  For  it  implies  goodness,  honesty, 
courage,  gameness,  regard  for  others,  stead- 
fastness, firm  beliefs,  regard  for  the  opinions 
of  others,  adherence  to  duty  in  the  face  of 
obstacles,  conscientious  devotion  to  duty  and 
all  of  the  other  traits  which  go  to  make  up  a 
real  man.  I  might  stop  here  and  be  content 
with  that  characterization  of  our  friend. 


Presentation  of  Portrait  21 

But  I  trust  you  will  pardon  one  or  two  ex- 
amples of  some  of  these  traits.  I  shall  first 
allude  to  his  experience  as  the  friend  and  ad- 
viser of  Senator  Cullom.  Senator  Cullom  was 
his  friend.  He  had  done  him  favors  in  the  past. 
He  needed  friends  from  time  to  time  in  his 
political  career  and  those  friends  must  needs  be 
stalwart,  unfaltering  and  true.  When  the  time 
came  for  aid  from  those  friends  Judge  Humph- 
rey never  faltered.  He  might  do  as  others  did 
and  seek  the  side  of  apparent  pubilc  favor,  but 
he  was  not  of  that  kind.  The  fact  that  a  friend 
apparently  faced  defeat  only  spurred  him  on  to 
greated  efforts  in  his  behalf. 

In  the  State  Capitol  grounds  of  the  State  of 
Tennessee  there  stands  a  monument  erected  by 
the  school  children  of  Tennessee  to  a  youth  of 
that  great  State  who,  at  the  age  of  twenty  years, 
was  executed  during  the  war  between  the  States 
because,  when   captured   within   the   Union 


22  Presentation  of  Portrait 

lines,  although  in  the  uniform  of  the  Confed- 
erate, Army,  he  carried  dispatches  which 
placed  him  in  the  category  of  a  spy.  Time  and 
again  he  was  told  that  if  he  w  ould  tell  the  name 
of  the  man  who  had  given  him  those  dispatches 
and  whom  they  still  believed  to  be  within  the 
Federal  lines,  his  life  would  be  spared.  Time 
and  again  he  refused.  Just  before  his  execu- 
tion and  as  he  stood  upon  the  scaffold,  the  same 
offer  was  repeated  to  him,  and  he  then  made  the 
statement  which  those  school  children  have  in- 
scribed upon  the  monument : 

*T  would  rather  die  a  thousand  deaths  than 
betray  a  friend."  And  those  school  children 
also  placed  upon  that  monument  another  state- 
ment concerning  Sam  Davis,  and  they  said: 

*'He  lost  all  he  had — Life; 
He  gained  what  he  lacked — Immortality." 

And  so  can  we  say  of  Judge  Humphrey.  He 
was  one  of  the  most  loval  men  to  his  friends  I 


Presentation  of  Portrait  23 

ever  knew.  Hq  could  always  be  depended 
upon  to  stand  up  for  a  friend  at  all  times  and  in 
all  places. 

Again  may  I  call  your  attention  to  his  love 
for  Abraham  Lincoln  and  to  all  that  pertained 
to  Lincoln.  I  think  he  patterned  his  life  after 
his  great  idol — Lincoln.  To  him  Lincoln  was 
more  than  a  man,  he  was  a  personality  and  an 
ideal,  and  no  man  could  seek  to  mould  himself 
after  a  better  pattern.  It  is  particularly  appro- 
priate that  these  exercises  should  be  held  today 
and  in  this  City — on  the  birthday  of  the  great 
emancipator,  whom  our  friend  loved  and  rev- 
erenced. 

Judge  Humphrey  had  his  faults,  his  weak- 
nesses and  his  frailties.  Who  of  us  have  not, 
and  what  human  ever  lived  who  did  not? 
They  were  smaller  and  fewer  than  most  of  us 
have.  They  were  only  the  little  things  that 
make  men  human  and  without  which  men 


24  Presentation  of  Portrait 

would  not  be  the  pleasant,  companionable 
human  beings  that  they  are.  Those  faults  we 
write  upon  the  sands  and  the  uncomparable 
virtues  of  the  men  we  write  upon  the  imperish- 
able tablets  of  love  and  memory. 

Frank  Stanton,  the  poet,  once  said  in  homely 
language: 

*'This  old  world  we're  living  in 
Is  mighty  hard  to  beat. 
With  every  rose  there  comes  a  thorn, 
But  ain't  the  roses  sweet." 

And  so  it  is  with  life,  and  so  it  is  with  men, 
and  so  it  is  with  friends  and  even  with  Judges. 
And  when  we  think  of  the  virtues  of  his  life, 
of  his  character  as  a  man  and  as  a  friend  and 
of  his  incomparable  capacity  and  ability  as  a 
Judge,  we  can  well  say  that  Judge  Humphrey 
was  one  of  the  roses  which  made  of  his  friend- 
ship and  acquaintance  one  of  the  sweet  and 
lasting  memories  of  this  life. 


Presentation  of  Portrait  25 

If  I  could  characterize  him  further  I  would 

say,  as  Byroii  said  of  another: 

**A  truer,  nobler,  trustier  heart. 
More  loving  and  more  loyal. 
Never  beat  within  a  human  breast." 

And  could  I  write  one  epitaph  to  place  upon 

his  tombstone  here  in  the  City  where  he  lived 

and  died,  I  would  write : 

'*Like  Lincoln,  whom  he  loved,  the 
world  is  richer  because  he  lived,  the  world 
is  poorer  because  he  died/' 

And  so  your  Honors,  I  come  today  as  the 
representative  of  the  lawyers  who  practice  at 
this  bar  and  on  their  behalf  present  to  this 
Court  the  portrait  of  our  late  friend  and  Judge. 

May  I  express  the  hope,  yes  more,  the  belief, 
that  it  will  only  add  to  the  inspiration  of  those 
who  sit  here  and  work  here,  which  these  other 
portraits  gave  to  him,  and  that  here  in  this 
Court  Room,  as  it  does  now  and  as  it  has  always 
done,  his  standards  of  absolute  impartiality, 


26  Presentation  of  Portrait 

fearless  independence,  unfaltering  justice  and 
untarnished  honor  may  ev  er  be  the  watchword 
of  those  who  occupy  the  exalted  and  powerful 
position  of  Judge  of  this  Court. 

And  may  the  record  of  his  service  here  and 
his  life  as  a  citizen,  his  integrity  and  his  honor, 
his  great  character  be  ever  to  all  of  us  an  in- 
spiration to  perform  our  full  duty  as  members 
of  a  great  profession  whose  great  traditions  and 
splendid  history  have  contributed  so  greatly  to 
the  splendid  government  and  institutions 
which  are  our  birthright  and  our  heritage  as 
citizens  of  a  great  nation. 


Acceptance  by  the  Court 

FitzHenry,  District  Judge: 

The  motion  to  accept  the  portrait  of  the 
Hon,  J  Otis  Humphrey  will  of  course  be  al- 
lowed, and  the  portrait  will  be  accepted  with 
the  sincere  thanks  of  the  Court  to  the  donors. 


HE  remarks  of  Mr.  Camp- 
bell, President  of  the  Illinois 
State  Bar  Association,  are 
peculiarly  appropriate  and 
thoroughly  justified  by  the 
life,  work  and  record  of  the  distinguished 
jurist  whom  we  endeavor  to  honor  today. 

27 


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28  Presentation  of  Portrait 

The  ceremonies  of  this  hour  complete,  in  a 
way,  the  judicial  history  of  this  Court  for  the 
first  century  of  its  existence. 

When  Illinois  was  admitted  into  the  Union 
and  the  District  comprised  the  entire  State  of 
Illinois,  the  presiding  Judge  was  Nathaniel 
Pope,  who,  prior  to  the  passage  of  the  enabling 
act  taking  the  Illinois  Territory  into  the  Union, 
had  represented  the  Territory  as  a  Delegate  to 
Congress.  He  was  succeeded  by  Judge 
Thomas  Drummond,  whose  district  was  also 
the  entire  State.  When  first  appointed.  Judge 
Drummond  was  a  resident  of  Galena,  but  after- 
wards took  up  his  residence  in  the  City  of 
Chicago,  and  continued  as  Judge  of  the  Dis- 
trict until  the  District  was  divided  into  the 
Northern  and  Southern  Districts,  when  he  was 
assigned  to  thei  Northern  District.  Judge 
Samuel  Treat  resigned  his  position  as  Judge  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  Illinois  to  accept  the  ap- 


Presentation  of  Portrait  29 

pointment  by  President  Pierce,  in  1855,  as  the 
Judge  of  the  Southern  District.  On  the  death 
of  Judge  Treat  in  1887,  William  Joshua  Allen 
came  to  the  bench  of  this  Court  and  was  the 
fourth  Judge.  Upon  his  death  in  January, 
1901,  Judge  Humphrey  was  appointed  as  the 
fifth  Judge. 

So,  with  the  ceremonies  of  the  day,  we  are 
placing  upon  the  walls  of  this  Court  room  the 
portrait  of  the  fifth  Judge  of  the  United  States 
Court  for  the  territory  now  comprising  this 
judicial  district.  It  is  true  that  many  of  the 
counties  of  Illinois  which  were  formerly  asso- 
ciated with  the  thirty-nine  counties  now  com- 
prising the  district  have  been  presided  over  by 
other  judges  and  undoubtedly  during  that 
period  other  judges  from  other  districts  in  the 
circuit  held  court  in  this  District. 

It  is  about  twenty  years  ago  that  a  similar 
ceremony  occurred  in  this  Court  room.     At 


30  Presentation  of  Portrait 

that  time  the  portraits  of  the  four  Justices  of 
the  Supreme  Court  and  the  four  District 
Judges,  as  well  as  the  portrait  of  Judge 
Gresham,  were  presented  to  the  Court,  and 
from  the  date  of  their  acceptance  they  were  un- 
doubtedly the  source  of  much  inspiration, 
courage  and  strength  to  Judge  Humphrey,  and 
the  other  judges  who  have  occupied  this  bench. 

Judge  Humphrey  had  taken  a  considerable 
part  in  the  efforts  of  the  Bar  to  assemble  these 
pictures  and  present  them  to  the  Court,  and  it 
is  indeed  fitting  that  now  his  portrait  should 
be  added  to  the  galaxy  which  adorns  the  walls 
of  this  court  room. 

It  was  Ruskin  who  said :  'Tainting,  with  all 
its  technicalities,  difficulties  and  peculiar  ends, 
is  nothing  but  a  noble  and  expressive  language, 
invaluable  as  the  vehicle  of  thought,  but  by 
itself  nothing." 


Presentation  of  Portrait  31 

The  artist  in  this  instance  speaks  in  a  noble 
and  in  an  expressive  language.  He  has  not 
only  studied  the  likenesses  in  existence  of  the 
deceased  jurist,  but  he  has  also  studied  his 
thoughts,  ambitions,  hopes,  and  character,  and 
they  have  all  found  crystalization  in  the  por- 
trait which  is  presented  today.  Indeed,  in  this 
instance,  the  artist  has  spoken  in  a  *'noble  and 
expressive  language,"  and  to  the  presiding 
Judge  of  this  Court  it  will  be,  in  a  way,  the 
presence  of  the  exalted  character,  his  thoughts, 
ideals  and  ambitions  in  this  court  room,  and  it, 
with  its  associate  portraits,  will  be  the  source 
of  strength,  energy  and  courage  to  Judge 
Humphrey's  successors. 

Upon  this  occasion  I  feel,  as  the  distin- 
guished gentleman  who  has  just  closed  his 
eulogy  felt,  that  the  most  appropriate  thing 
that  could  be  said  upon  this  occasion  was  what 
Judge  Humphrey  said  himself  from  this  bench 


32  Presentation  of  Portrait 

when,  about  twenty  years  ago,  the  other  por- 
traits were  presented  to  him.  It  was  the  closing 
sentence  or  two  that  were  spoken  by  the  Judge 
and  I  am  going  to  avail  myself  of  the  privilege 
of  using  the  same  words: 

*'To  the  Court  they  will  be  a  constant 
source  of  sympathy  and  strength ;  to  coun- 
sel, an  inspiration  encouraging  the  best 
that  is  in  him  to  ripen  into  the  best  he  can 
do;  to  jurors,  witnesses  and  auditors,  a 
reminder  of  the  noble  record  already  made 
and  a  pledge  that  the  future  shall  be  alike 
secure.  To  all,  these  portraits  will  stand 
for  absolute  impartiality,  fearless  inde- 
pendence, unfaltering  justice  and  untar- 
nished honor." 

This  portrait  will  be  gratefully  received  into 
the  custody  of  the  Court  and  it  will  have  a 
permanent  place  on  the  walls  of  this  Court 
room.  It  will  also  be  ordered  that  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  day,  including  the  address  of  Mr. 
Campbell,  which  has  just  been  delivered,  be 


Presentation  of  Portrait  33 

spread  at  large  upon  the  records  of  this  Court, 
and  Mr.  Clerk,  it  is  so  ordered. 

Is  there  any  other  business  to  come  before 
the  Court?  If  not,  Mr.  Bailiff,  you  may  ad- 
journ Court  until  ten  o'clock  tomorrow  morn- 
ing. 

Adjourned. 


The  following  Memorial  was  presented  to 
the  United  States  District  Court  for  the  South- 
ern District  of  Illinois,  at  Springfield,  on  the 
15th  day  of  October,  igi8,  and  recorded  in 
Book  2,  page  731,  of  the  Daily  Record  of 
Court  Proceedings.  As  it  furnishes  important 
data  on  the  life  of  Judge  Humphrey,  the  Com- 
mittee is  glad  to  make  it  available  to  his  friends. 


34 


A  Memorial  Commemorative 

of  the  Life  and  Character  of 
Honorable  J  Otis  Humphrey 

JN  Friday,  June  14,  1918,  in 
the  City  of  Springfield,  Illinois, 
Honorable  J  Otis  Humphrey, 
United  States  District  Judge  for 
the  Southern  District  of  Illinois,  departed  this 
life. 

Judge  Humphrey  was  a  native  of  Morgan 
County,  Illinois,  having  been  born  in  that 
County  December  30,  1850.  He  was  the  son 
of  William  and  Sarah  Stocker  Humphrey.  He 
was  descended  from  an  old  English  family. 
Major  Humphrey,  his  great-grandfather,  won 
his  title  as  the  commander  of  a  battalion  of  the 

35 


36  Memorial 

Fourth  Rhode  Island  Infantry  of  the  Amer- 
ican army  during  the  War  of  Independence. 

Later,  members  of  the  Humphrey  family 
came  West,  and  Judge  Humphrey's  parents 
settled  in  Morgan  County,  Illinois,  where  his 
father,  William  Humphrey,  died  in  1893. 

Judge  Humphrey  was  reared  on  a  farm  in 
Auburn  Township,  Sangamon  County,  and  his 
early  education  was  secured  in  the  District 
School.  Later  he  attended  the  High  School  at 
Virden,  Macoupin  County,  for  two  years,  after 
which  he  spent  five  years  in  Shurtlefif  College, 
Upper  Alton,  Illinois.  After  graduation  he 
taught  for  two  years  in  that  college. 

He  later  entered  the  law  office  of  Robinson, 
Knapp  &  Shutt,  in  Springfield,  and  in  1880  he 
was  admitted  to  the  bar,  working  that  year  in 
the  office  of  Hon.  John  A.  Chestnut,  super- 
visor of  the  census  for  the  Eighth  District  of 
Illinois.    In  1881  and  1882  he  was  a  clerk  in 


Memorial  37 

the  offices  of  the  Illinois  Railroad  and  Ware- 
house Commission.  In  1883  he  formed  a  law 
partnership  with  Hon.  Henry  S.  Greene  and 
Frank  Burnett,  this  firm  continuing  until  Mr. 
Frank  Burnett  left  Springfield  to  go  West,  the 
firm  then  continuing  under  the  style  of  Greene 
&  Humphrey. 

Mr.  Henry  S.  Greene  was  one  of  the  best 
known  lawyers  in  the  middle  West  and  had 
previously  been  associated  in  partnership  with 
Hon.  Milton  Hay  and  Hon.  David  T.  Littler, 
the  firm  having  been  Hay,  Greene  &  Littler. 
During  the  existence  of  the  firm  of  Greene, 
Burnett  &  Humphrey,  both  Mr.  Hay  and  Mr. 
Littler  had  offices  adjoining  those  of  the  new 
firm,  and  Judge  Humphrey  had  the  rare  op- 
portunity of  personal  association  and  advice 
with  these  most  able  and  representative  men. 
After  the  death  of  Mr.  Greene,  Judge  Humph- 
rey formed  a  partnership  with  R.   H.  Mc- 


38  Memorial 

Anulty  and  Walter  M.  Allen,  the  firm  being 
styled  Humphrey,  McAnulty  &  Allen,  and 
continuing  in  the  active  practice  of  the  law  in 
this  city  until  1901,  when  Judge  Humphrey 
was  appointed  to  the  Federal  Bench. 

Judge  Humphrey  was  for  many  years  prom- 
inent in  the  politics  of  the  Republican  party  in 
Illinois.  His  political  activities  began  in  1876 
under  the  tutilage  of  the  late  Hon.  Shelby  M. 
Cullom,  who  was  that  year  elected  Governor 
of  Illinois.  In  1884  he  was  an  elector  on  the 
Republican  ticket  in  the  Cleveland-Blaine 
campaign.  In  1896  he  was  a  delegate  to  the 
National  Republican  Convention  in  St.  Louis. 
He  was  for  four  years  Chairman  of  the  San- 
gamon County  Republican  Committee.  On 
July  I,  1897,  President  McKinley  appointed 
him  United  States  District  Attorney  for  the 
Southern  District  of  Illinois,  and  in  1901  he 
was  appointed  Judge  of  the  United  States 


Memorial  39 

I. 

District  Court  for  the  Southern  District  of 
Illinois,  to  succeed  Judge  William  J.  Allen, 
deceased. 

He  was  married  in  1879  to  Miss  Mary  E. 
Scott,  daughter  of  the  Rev.  A.  H.  Scott,  a 
Baptist  Clergyman.  He  is  survived  by  his 
widow,  four  daughters.  Misses  Mary,  Maude 
and  Grace  Humphrey,  and  Ruth,  wife  of  E. 
Booth  Gruendike,  and  one  son,  Sergeant  Otis 
Scott  Humphrey,  in  the  ''Rainbow  Division" 
of  General  Pershing's  army  in  France,  who 
was  engaged  in  the  practice  of  law  w  ith  Walter 
McClellan  Allen  and  Henry  A.  Converse  in 
this  city  when  the  United  States  declared  war 
on  Germany  but  who  shortly  after  went  to  New 
York  City,  where  he  enlisted  as  a  private. 

The  death  of  Judge  Humphrey  removed 
from  the  bench  an  able,  conscientious,  fearless 
and  virile  Judge,  and  deprived  the  State  of 
Illinois  of  one  of  its  most  distinguished  citi- 


40  Memorial 

zens.  Judge  Humphrey  was  a  man  of  varied 
interests  and  activities,  into  all  of  which  he  put 
the  force  of  his  intense  enthusiasm. 

He  had  all  the  physical  attributes  of  a  real 
man.  He  was  strong,  active,  tireless,  impres- 
sive in  speech  and  bearing,  dignified,  but 
friendly  and  approachable.  In  a  high  degree 
he  possessed  those  rare  qualities  that  make  a 
real  executive  and  true  leader  of  men.  He  had 
decision  of  purpose  and  the  courage  to  back 
his  judgment. 

First  and  foremost,  he  was  a  lawyer  and 
Jurist,  although  maintaining  a  close  touch  with 
the  business  and  farming  interests  of  Central 
Illinois.  He  was  closely  identified  with  the 
civic  life  of  his  home  city,  and  was  public 
spirited  and  patriotic  in  the  truest  sense. 

His  respect  for  the  law  was  profound.  To 
him  the  law  was  to  be  obeyed  and  enforced  as 
written,  yet  to  be  tempered  with  mercy,  and  to 


Memorial  41 

those  principles  he  was  ever  true,  whether  as  a 
private  practitioner  at  the  Sangamon  County 
Bar,  or  as  a  public  prosecutor  when  United 
States  District  Attorney,  or  as  Judge  upon  the 
Federal  bench. 

He  regarded  the  law  as  a  science  —  the 
noblest  creation  of  human  logic  and  reason. 
To  him  the  Constitution  was  the  rock  upon 
which  rested  securely  the  rights  of  the  Ameri- 
can people.  He  firmly  believed  in  the  broad 
construction  of  the  Constitution,  and  in  a 
strong  government  clothed  with  ample  powers, 
fully  equipped  and  designed  to  protect  our 
liberties  and  property. 

To  him  a  thoroughly  equipped  and  finished 
lawyer  was  the  finest  type  of  an  educated,  up- 
right and  broad-minded  man,  an  exemplary 
citizen,  one  to  be  respected  and  esteemed. 

As  a  lawyer  Judge  Humphrey  was  diligent, 
forceful  and  ever  ready  to  maintain  with  judg- 


42  Memorial 

ment  and  strength  the  cause  of  his  clients.  He 
feared  no  antagonist,  and  could  be  fairly  called 
a  fighting  lawyer. 

As  United  States  Attorney  he  was  an  able 
and  vigorous  prosecutor,  and  while  in  that 
office  established  a  reputation  that  made  him 
the  logical  selection  for  the  Federal  bench. 

As  a  Federal  Judge  he  sat  in  all  the  United 
States  District  Courts  in  the  State  of  Illinois, 
and  was  frequently  assigned  to  try  cases  in  the 
United  States  District  Courts  of  Indiana  and 
Wisconsin.  He  also  frequently  sat  upon  the 
United  States  Circuit  Court  of  Appeals,  for 
the  Seventh  Judicial  Circuit. 

At  the  time  of  his  death,  Judge  Humphrey 
had  for  a  number  of  years  been  the  senior 
United  States  District  Judge  in  the  Seventh 
Judicial  Circuit.  His  judicial  duties  brought 
him  in  close  touch  with  many  of  the  eminent 
lawyers  of  the  American  Bar,  and  he  early 


Memorial  43 

gained  the  reputation  of  being  an  able,  vigor- 
ous and  fearless  Judge.  Before  him  were  tried 
many  cases  of  national  importance,  and  his 
written  opinions,  whether  sitting  as  a  District 
Judge  or  as  a  member  of  the  United  States 
Circuit  Court  of  Appeals,  were  well  reasoned 
and  finely  expressed,  and  received  high  com- 
mendation from  the  bench  and  the  bar. 

He  took  the  keenest  pleasure  in  the  society 
of  eminent  jurists  and  lawyers,  and  as  he  ad- 
vanced in  years,  he  became  more  and  more 
imbued  with  respect  and  regard  for  the  law 
and  the  courts.  He  read  extensively,  being 
particularly  interested  in  the  history  of  nations 
and  great  men.  Such  research  added  to  his 
store  of  knowledge  of  the  growth  and  develop- 
ment of  the  law. 

It  can  be  justly  said  that  he  graced  the  bench 
with  learning,  fidelity  and  industry.  He  main- 
tained the  highest  traditions  of  the  Federal 


44  Memorial 

Judiciary.  He  surrounded  himself  in  his 
Court  Room  with  the  portraits  of  all  the  Fed- 
eral Judges  who  had  ever  sat  in  this  District, 
and  he  also  secured  portraits  of  the  great  Chief 
Justice  Marshall  and  of  Justices  Chase,  Harlan 
and  David  Davis  of  the  United  States  Supreme 
Court.  He  studied  the  personal  traits  of  these 
eminent  jurists,  and  daily  drew  inspirations 
from'  their  splendid  characters. 

Before  going  upon  the  bench,  he  was  most 
active  in  politics,  being  an  ardent  Republican. 
He  w^as  a  natural  leader  of  men,  and  in  the 
councils  of  his  party  he  was  recognized  as  able 
and  forceful.  He  was  pre-eminently  the  Re- 
publican leader  of  Sangamon  County,  and 
was  also  recognized  throughout  the  State  as 
one  of  the  most  faithful  and  effective  supporters 
of  the  late  Shelby  M.  Cullom. 

His  devotion  to  the  interests  of  Mr.  Cullom 
was  intense,  and  extended  over  a  period  of 


Memorial  45 

more  than  thirty  years,  and  Mr.  Cullom  recip- 
rocated by  recognizing  his  services  in  selecting 
him  for  preferment,  and  always  expressed  the 
keenest  satisfaction  in  his  selection. 

While  in  active  practice.  Judge  Humphrey 
made  excellent  business  connections.  He  was 
one  of  the  founders  of  The  Franklin  Life 
Insurance  Company,  and  for  twelve  years 
prior  to  his  death  was  the  first  vice-president  of 
this  institution.  He  was  also  a  director  in  the 
Illinois  National  Bank  and  the  Sangamon 
Loan  &  Trust  Company.  He  was  one  of  a 
number  of  business  men  v^ho  erected  the  Odd 
Fellows  Building,  and  was  also  active  in  the 
erection  of  the  Illinois  National  Bank  and  the 
Franklin  Life  Insurance  building,  three  of  the 
finest  business  buildings  in  Springfield. 

He  was  intensely  interested  in  the  develop- 
ment of  farm  lands  in  the  Mississippi  Valley. 
He  regarded  farming  and  stock  raising  as  a 


46  Memorial 

science,  and  to  better  equip  himself,  while  on 
the  bench,  he  took  a  course  of  lectures  in  agri- 
culture in  the  University  of  Illinois,  and  read 
extensively  upon  the  art  of  farming  and  stock 
raising. 

He  acquired  large  holdings  of  land  in  Illi- 
nois and  Arkansas,  having  an  abiding  faith 
that  the  Mississippi  Valley  was  the  garden  spot 
of  the  World,  far  surpassing  even  the  Valley  of 
the  Nile. 

In  fraternal  circles  he  was  for  many  years 
devoted  to  the  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and  was 
the  recipient  of  the  highest  honors  bestowed  by 
that  Order  in  this  State.  He  was  devoted  to  the 
Odd  Fellows  Orphans  Home  at  Lincoln, 
Illinois,  of  which  he  was  for  many  years  a 
trustee  and  practically  the  managing  and  di- 
recting spirit.  He  was  also  a  member  of  St. 
Paul's  Lodge  No.  500,  Ancient  Free  and  Ac- 
cepted Masons,  and  w^as  an  active  member  of 


Memorial  47 

the  Sangamo  Club  and  of  the  Illini  Country 
Club.  ^ 

Judge  Humphrey  believed  thoroughly  in 
the  growth  and  development  of  educational  in- 
stitutions, and  his  interest  in  such  was  recog- 
nized by  his  selection  as  a  trustee  for  Shurtleff 
College  at  Upper  Alton,  Illinois,  and  as  Trus- 
tee for  the  University  of  Chicago.  He  con- 
sidered it  the  duty  of  everyone  to  secure  the 
broadest  and  most  liberal  education  possible, 
both  in  schools  of  learning  and  by  travel,  and 
these  views  he  consistently  carried  out  in  the 
education  of  his  immediate  family.  He  studied 
with  his  children  the  masters  of  literature, 
poetry,  art,  history  and  music  and  gave  to  them 
the  opportunity  of  extensive  travel. 

His  natural  fondness  for  art  lead  him  to 
study  the  master  productions.  This  he  did  with 
rare  wisdom  and  discernment.  He  delighted 
in  seeking  out  in  the  great  art  collections  of 


48  Memorial 

this  country  and  abroad  the  famous  originals. 
He  became  a  judge  of  good  pictures,  and  se- 
lected for  his  own  home  works  of  real  merit. 

Judge  Humphrey  was  closely  identified  with 
the  civic  welfare  and  activities  of  Springfield, 
and  was  frequently  called  upon  to  advise  in 
matters  of  local  moment.  Whenever  he  ac- 
cepted service  upon  a  committee  he  worked 
with  a  will,  and  effectively.  Whenever  he  ac- 
cepted the  chairmanship  of  a  committee  he  not 
only  worked  with  a  will  but  saw  to  it  that  every- 
one else  also  worked.  The  fact  that  he  was 
identified  with  a  movement  meant  that  success 
was  assured. 

He  devoted  much  time  to  the  study  of  the 
life  and  character  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  and 
became  a  recognized  authority  on  the  facts  and 
literature  pertaining  to  his  life. 

He  was  the  organizer  of  the  Lincoln  Cen- 
tennial Association,  formed  to  celebrate  the 


Memorial  49 

looth  anniversary  of  the  birth  of  the  great 
Emancipator.  This  celebration  was  February 
I2th,  1909,  and  was  one  of  the  notable  events 
in  the  history  of  Springfield.  To  this  city,  for 
this  celebration,  came  eminent  statesmen,  am- 
bassadors and  orators.  The  event  was  a  bril- 
liant and  notable  success.  Annually  thereafter 
the  natal  day  of  Lincoln  was  celebrated  in 
Springfield  under  the  auspices  of  this  Asso- 
ciation. On  each  of  these  occasions  Judge 
Humphrey  was  re-elected  President  and  pre- 
sided with  rare  grace  and  dignity. 

It  was  his  ambition  to  make  Springfield  a 
mecca  to  which  annually  would  come  a  pil- 
grimage to  do  homage  to  our  First  Citizen. 
He  had  hoped  to  gradually  accumulate  a  col- 
lection of  masterly  addresses  by  famous  men, 
delivered  at  the  annual  Lincoln  Banquets.  He 
had  hoped  that  these  addresses  might  be  a  dis- 
tinct addition  to  the  literature  on  Lincoln  —  a 


50  Memorial 

sort  of  Lincolnia  in  a  class  by  itself.  This  was 
a  noble  ambition,  a  great  lofty  idea,  a  real  de- 
sire to  leave  to  posterity  something  fitting  in 
memory  of  our  martyred  President. 

Being  a  native  son  of  Illinois,  Judge 
Humphrey  took  the  greatest  pride  in  the  his- 
tory of  his  native  State.  He  read  everything 
he  could  find  written  about  Illinois  history. 
He  regularly  attended  the  meetings  of  the  Illi- 
nois Historical  Society,  and  few  men  in  this 
State  were  so  well  versed  as  he  in  the  history 
and  story  of  this  great  Prairie  State  and  its 
people. 

Nathaniel  Pope,  the  first  United  States  Dis- 
trict Judge  in  Illinois,  was  also  Territorial 
Governor  and  delegate  to  Congress,  when 
Illinois  was  admitted  to  the  Union.  Judge 
Humphrey  delighted  to  recount  the  splendid 
work  Nathaniel  Pope  did  in  fixing  the  bounda- 
ries of  the  new  State.    He  was  want  to  regard 


Memorial  51 

the  prophetic  vision  of  Nathaniel  Pope  as 
almost  inspired,  and  he  considered  the  work  of 
Pope  as  a  priceless  heritage  handed  down  to 
the  succeeding  Federal  Judges.  Doubtless 
Judge  Humphrey's  love  of  Illinois  history 
was  the  inspiration  that  moved  Miss  Grace 
Humphrey,  his  daughter,  to  write  her  most 
commendable  History  of  Illinois. 

When  the.Great  War  laid  its  scourge  upon 
the  World  Judge  Humphrey  studied  and  pon- 
dered the  underlying  causes.  He  saw  that 
inevitably  the  United  States  must  throw  its 
weight  into  the  scales  for  humanity  and  liberty. 
His  love  of  country  and  faith  in  the  American 
nation  became  uppermost  in  his  thoughts  and 
conversation.  If  possible  he  acquired  an 
additional  fervor  when  his  only  son  and  eldest 
daughter  journeyed  to  France  to  take  their 
places  in  the  great  struggle. 


52  Memorial 

When  the  first  Red  Cross  Drive  was  started 
in  Sangamon  County,  Judge  Humphrey  was 
the  logical  man  to  lead.  The  enthusiasm  with 
which  he  entered  upon  this  campaign  and  the 
signal  success  that  crowned  the  effort,  is  a 
matter  of  such  recent  history  that  the  mere 
mention  of  it  suffices  to  bring  it  vividly  before 
us.  The  second  Red  Cross  Drive  found  him 
in  the  hospital,  but  he  promptly  made  his  con- 
tribution and  sent  it  to  headquarters,  there  to 
help  put  Sangamon  County  so  gloriously  over 
the  top. 

Religiously  Judge  Humphrey  was  a  Baptist 
and  was  a  consistent  and  regular  attendant  at 
the  Central  Baptist  Church.  He  was  active  in 
church  life,  but  was  in  no  sense  a  narrow  sec- 
tarian. He  was  most  tolerant  of  the  religious 
belief  of  others,  but  firmly  believed  that  a  re- 
ligious life  was  essential  to  the  welfare  of  all 
right  thinking  men. 


Memorial  53 

In  his  family  relations  Judge  Humphrey 
was  ideal,  being  devoted  to  his  wife  and  chil- 
dren. His  ever  present  desire  was  to  amply 
provide  for  their  immediate  needs  and  their 
future  welfare.  To  that  end  he  had  the  laud- 
able ambition  to  leave  to  them  the  priceless 
heritage  of  a  good  name  and  character.  It  can 
be  fairly  said  that  his  ambition  for  personal 
preferment  was  more  for  those  who  were  near 
and  dear  to  him  than  for  himself. 

His  fatal  illness  was  unexpected.  He  was 
taken  off  in  the  full  tide  of  his  strength  and 
reputation.  Our  last  recollection  of  him  will 
be  that  of  a  man  possessed  of  all  his  mental  and 
physical  powers.  It  seemed  that  he  had  many 
years  of  further  development  and  usefulness 
before  him,  and  we  mourn  what  seems  to  us  to 
be  his  untimely  end  —  but,  knowing  him  as  we 
did,  we  must  feel  that  he  would  have  wished  to 
pass  to  the  other  side,  rather  than  to  have  lin- 


54  Memorial 

gered  on  a  helpless  invalid,  bereft  of  the  physi- 
cal power  and  energy  that  had  been  his  in  such 
a  marked  degree. 

And  so  we  prepare  this  memorial  as  a  brief 
and  simple  tribute  to  the  life  and  character  of 
J  Otis  Humphrey. 

He  was  an  ideal  citizen,  an  exemplary  hus- 
band and  father,  an  able  lawyer,  an  eminent 
Jurist,  a  fitting  example  of  all  of  us.  His  death 
is  a  blow  to  this  community  and  he  will  be 
missed  and  mourned  by  all. 


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